Uzumaki of the West
by Venomhand360
Summary: After getting kidnapped and almost getting the Kyuubi removed from him, Naruto finds himself in the lands west of the Elemental Countries. But can he deal with his pursuers who want to use the Kyuubi for their own gain, just as an ancient evil returns? Naruharem Crossover with Skyrim.
1. Unbound

**Prologue: Unbound.**

Naruto woke up in the hospital, at first wondering why he was there, but it eventually came back to him. Sasuke tried to defect to Orochimaru, but Shikamaru had lead a team consisting of him, Kiba, Neji, Chouji, and Naruto himself. Orochimaru's minions, the Sound Five tried to stop them, but while the rest of the team and Lee stopped them, Naruto had managed to catch up to Sasuke. They battled. . .

And Naruto won.

Naruto had managed to keep his promise and bring Sasuke back to Konoha.

A few days later, Naruto was released from the hospital, peeved that his only visitor was Jiraiya, who had offered to take him on a training trip for two and a half years. Naruto accepted the offer and left with the Toad Sannin thinking he was getting stronger, but when he got back he discovered that he had taken mere baby steps while everyone else improved by heaps and bounds, along with the fact that he was still a Genin while everyone else was now Chunin. When Akatsuki had kidnapped Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna and Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi no Shukaku, Team 7 had gone with Team Gai to rescue Gaara, but by the time they reached him, Shukaku had been extracted from Gaara and Gaara himself was dead, only being revived at the sacrifice of Chiyo, one of Suna's elders. When they returned to Konoha, Sasuke was given the credit of saving Gaara while Naruto had been blamed for letting Akatsuki escape and extract Shukaku in time. Team 7's new team mates didn't make Naruto feel better because Sai constantly insulted his team mates, calling Naruto 'dickless' and Sakura ugly while Yamato, Kakashi's assistant and Team 7's stand-in sensei whined about every little thing Naruto did. Yet both got along very well with Sasuke. So not only did Naruto have to wait two hours for Kakashi to arrive to go on the mission, but he also had to put up with Sakura's super-strong punches for the littlest of things, Sasuke's large ego and rudeness, Sai's insults and Yamato's whininess. Then after whatever mission, Sasuke got all the credit while Naruto was blamed for any faults in the mission.

Of course, it all changed during a C-Rank.

Team 7 was to escort a merchant caravan which could be a target for bandits.

"Hey, you're Sasuke Uchiha!" Said one merchant.

"Yeah, that's him!" Said Sakura cheerfully.

"I heard that you defeated Gaara in the Chunin exams a few years ago and that you've recently saved him from some missing-nin." Said the merchant. "He must be pretty humble now."

"Hmph." Was all Sasuke said.

"That's right." Said Kakashi.

Naruto rolled his eyes, which earned him a glare from Yamato.

"I also heard that you were in Wave-" Said the merchant.

Naruto remembered Wave, and thought of Haku and Zabuza, and the lesson Haku taught him about protecting those precious to him.

"And that you killed Haku and Zabuza-"

"WHAT?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, Sasuke killed Haku and Zabuza." Said Yamato. "Don't act like you did it."

"What, Dickless doesn't know what happened on the mission he was on?" Sai asked.

"Of course I do!" Naruto argued. "In fact, I remember that Haku had-"

But before Naruto could finish, Sakura had punched him, sending him skidding to the back of the caravan.

"Baka!" Said Sakura. "Stop lying and trying to show off!"

Naruto slowly picked himself up, looking at Team 7 as they walked ahead. Haku taught him that he should fight for those precious to him, but he didn't see any reason to call Team 7 precious.

"Naruto, you always are and will be a dobe," Said Sasuke. "So you might as well stop trying!"

Naruto let out a small sigh, and slowly walked back towards his team.

* * *

In the trees, there were two people watching the caravan move by.

'This will be easier than I thought.' One man thought to him self as he surveyed the caravan with binoculars.

"The caravan's in position, should I send the signal?" Asked the other.

"Do it."

The second man sent out a signal, and a very large group of bandits charged at the caravan.

"Sir, that's Sharingan Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke down there." Said the second man as he watched the ninja save Naruto get into a ready stance. "They'll mulch the bandits with no problem."

"That's why I've hired the missing-nin." Said the first man, and sure enough, the ninja moved out of the way of a lightning bolt as missing-nin jumped down to attack. The first man pulled out a radio and turned it on. "Alpha Team, the target is close to your position. Incapacitate him before he joins with his team."

* * *

Naruto was still walking back when he saw bandits charging towards the caravan, then see Team 7 leap away from a bolt of lightning as missing-nin leapt down to attack. He then ran to help them, only to see three men leap out of the nearby bushes, two of them wielding bats. One rushed at him and swung at Naruto, but he ducked and punched the man in the gut, but he was knocked out by the other bat-wielder. The three men grabbed him and took him away from the caravan. When they were far away, the third man pulled out a radio.

"Sir, we got the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and are making our way to the extraction point." He said.

* * *

When Naruto came to, he was on a carriage, his hands were bound and there was a guard on either side of him. Sitting across from him was a man smoking a cigar, also flanked by two guards.

"Don't bother trying to escape." Said the man. "We've locked you out of your chakra and disarmed you of your weapons."

"What do you want with me?" Naruto asked.

"The Kyuubi no Yoko." The man answered.

Naruto's eyes widened. " The Kyuubi? You're part of Akatsuki!"

The man burst out laughing like Naruto had just told him the funniest joke ever.

"Like I'd work with those clowns." He said.

The carriage entered a small village, and made its way to the fort.

"General Citadel!" Shouted the guard at the gate. "The mages are ready!"

* * *

Kada climbed onto the roof of the fort, looked at the court below where there were alot of mages and guards waiting around, prepared for something big.

"General Citadel! The mages are ready!" Shouted the guard.

Kada's eyes narrowed as the gate began to open. Three months ago, someone broke into the headquarters of the Way of the Five Grains, and stole some books on the Biju. They had managed to trace it to a lord named General Citadel and Kada was sent to confront the General and retrieve the books. Along the way, he stopped by Touka Village and spoke with Kannu and the others since the victory against Ukitsu and his Terracotta Army. Koumei was happy because her sister-student Houtou was visiting, and he had noticed that she was reading an interesting book called 'The Book of the Dragonborn.' Kada thought of how some of the other members of the guild would talk about the 'Prophecy of the Dragonborn' in the back, and what it meant.

A carriage passed through the gate, carrying six passengers, one of which was General Citadel and the other was a blonde in an orange and black outfit and a black headband with a metal plate on the forehead. The carriage stopped and the General stepped off first, followed by the guards flanking him, while the blonde in orange was retrained by the guards flanking him and lead off.

'A prisoner?' Kada though in confusion. 'Why would General Citadel bring a prisoner from the Elemental Countries all the way here? Unless. . .'

From what Kada remembered, the books also talked about how the Biju were sealed into people, and those people were called Jinchuuriki. Was this prisoner a Jinchuuriki?

* * *

Naruto was lead towards a wall, and faced the courtyard where the mages were in a were in a circle. General Citadel stood at the center alongside a mage.

"Today," He announced. "I shall remove the Kyuubi no Yoko and use it to bring me victory!"

There was a roar in the distance, causing people to look around in confusion.

"What was that?" Asked one of the mages.

"Nevermind, let's get started." Said General Citadel. He turned to the mage next to him. "Is the ink ready?"

"Yes." Said the mage, who pulled out a bottle of light blue ink. "This will dissolve the seal and force the Kyuubi out." He looked at the guards. "Show me the seal!" He ordered.

There was another roar, this time it was louder.

"There it is again." Said one of the mages.

"I said, show me the seal!"

The guards lifted Naruto's jacket and shirt, while a mage pressed his hand on Naruto's side and channelled his power into Naruto, revealing the Shiki Fuin Seal on Naruto's stomach. The mage with the ink started to walk towards Naruto, removing the lid on the bottle.

"Don't worry, this will hurt like hell." The mage told him as he dipped a brush into the ink.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

"Sentries, what do you see?" General Citadel shouted as something large and black flew over the fort walls.

"Dragon!"

The dragon landed on the tower across from Naruto, causing him, the guards and the mages to stumble. The dragon roared, and the sky, which was clear a few seconds ago was now cloudy as small meteors fell and Naruto's vision blurred while he struggled to stand.

"Get up!"

When his vision cleared, Naruto saw that the courtyard was deserted save for a man in red hair and a white robe.

"Head for the tower if you want to live!" Said the man as he ran for it while Naruto followed. Once they were inside, the man closed the door.

"We should make our way to the top." Said the man. Naruto nodded in agreement as they went up the stairs, to the second floor, but to their disappointment, the stairs to the top of the tower were blocked by rubble. Suddenly the dragon rammed its head through the wall and unleashed its fire breath. Naruto and the man stayed in the stairwell until the dragon left, and then they made their way to the hole, where they could see an inn with a hole in its roof, most likely caused by the meteors.

"We'll have to jump into the inn!" Said the man.

Naruto took a few steps back to make a running jump into the inn, followed by the man.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Kada Genka." Said the man.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Soon, Kada and Naruto were out of the inn, and saw the dragon land in the middle of the road.

"Look out!" Shouted Kada as he and Naruto took cover behind a burning house while the dragon's breathed fire where they used to stand. When the dragon took off, Kada and Naruto ran into an alley.

"Stay close to the wall!" Kada told Naruto, and sure enough, the dragon returned again, and used its fire breath on a lone archer. When it left again, Kada and Naruto ran through a burning house, where they found some of General Citadel's guards focused on fighting the dragon.

"Head for the keep!" Shouted a guard. "We'll regroup with the General there."

Naruto and Kada spotted the keep and made a dash for one of the entrances. Once they were inside, and they had regained their breath, they found themselves inside a circular foyer with a small wooden gate on the left and an iron bar door on the right. Directly opposite of the wall was a small table with a sword on it and a chair.

"We should be safe for now." Said Kada. He pulled out a knife. "Let's get your hands free."

Kada cut the rope binding Naruto's hands.

"Thanks," Said Naruto. "But they said they locked me out of my chakra."

Kada looked over Naruto, and discovered that they had placed some tags on his back. When they were removed, Naruto made a Shadow Clone and formed the Rasengan to test it. "Yeah, it's back to normal."

'So he really is from the Elemental Countries.' Kada thought as he saw Naruto disperse the Shadow Clone and the Rasengan.

Naruto grabbed the sword and gave it a few swings while Kada checked the door.

"It's locked." He said before going to the gate. "I can't open it from this end." Suddenly, two people rounded the corner and headed for the gate. Kada quickly hid next to the gate.

"Open the gate!" Shouted a guard, which was followed by the sound of a chain being pulled and the gate opening. A guard and a captain walked in, immediately attacked by Naruto and Kada. Naruto dodged a slash from the guard captain, then slashed him three times before finishing him off with a fourth. Naruto looked over to see that Kada had just finished off the guard attacking him. Naruto then searched the captain and found a key. He went up to the locked door and unlocked it.

"Let's go." Said Naruto as he went further into the keep, followed by Kada.

**Yeah, I'm doing a Naruto/Koihime Musou/Skyrim Crossover.**

**Next chapter, Naruto arrives in Touka Village and meets the Shoku (Or Shu) Faction.**


	2. Welcome to Shoku

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Shoku.**

While Naruto and Kada moved through the keep, they heard the dragon roar again, followed by a portion of the ceiling caving in, blocking the hall.

"That dragon isn't giving up." Said Naruto. To his left he saw a door and opened it. Inside was a storage room.

"Grab as much as you can, we're leaving!" Shouted a guard.

Naruto went inside and spotted two guards standing close to a second door. On of the guards spotted Naruto and unsheathed his sword.

"We got an intruder!" Shouted the guard, causing the other guard to take notice of Naruto and pull out his sword. Naruto slashed at the closest guard while Kada engaged the second guard. Naruto blocked a slash from the guard, then kicked him in the stomach and took him down with four slashes. He looked at Kada just in time to see him finish off the other guard with a punch to the face. Going through the other door, they found themselves on the other side of the rubble blocking the hallway. Continuing forward, they found that it went down into a basement, and at the end of the hall, they could see a larger room that contained cages. As soon as they stepped into the room, they dodged a fireball thrown at them by a mage while a guard rushed to attack.

"Ah, another shinobi?" The mage asked as he launched another fireball at Naruto. Taking a quick glance at Naruto's headband, he added, "And from the Leaf Village? What kind of parlour tricks do they teach?"

'I'll show you parlour tricks.' Naruto thought as he made several Shadow Clones.

The mage shot lightning out of his left hand, dispelling all the clones that rushed at him and saw one more next to the real Naruto helping him form the Rasengan. The mage shot a fireball from his right hand at the real Naruto, who dodged it at the cost of the Rasengan being disrupted.

"How pathetic!" Said the mage as he fired another fireball at Naruto.

Naruto pulled out his sword and rushed at the mage. Just as he did with the Shadow Clones, the mage shot lightning at Naruto, but Naruto had managed to get close enough to the mage and kick him. Naruto took down the mage with three slashes, then turned to the guard, who was weakened by Kada. Naruto finished off the guard by stabbing him in the stomach.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Kada asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, it's nothing." He then noticed something in one of the cages. Taking a closer look, he saw that it was a dead shinobi, but this one had a cloud hitai-ite and a white vest. Next to him was a grey book with a picture of flames shaped like a hand. "What the?"

Kada looked at the dead shinobi. "Did you know him?" He asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No." He said. "He's from Kumo, I'm from Konoha." Grabbing the guard's sword, he cut the paddle lock on the cell door, then tossed it aside as he opened the door and grabbed the book.

"That's a Destruction spell tome." Said Kada. "When we get out of here, you can study it and learn the spell."

Naruto nodded as he and Kada left the cell and went through a narrow hallway flanked with small holding cells and into another room with cages. There was another passage, though the walls looked more cave-like. Soon they reached a larger room, that had a shallow stream, a bridge a few inches above it, and five guards, two of them wielding bows.

"I'm getting tired of waiting! When will we leave?" Asked one of the guards.

"As soon as-" The other guard stopped when he saw Naruto and Kada. "What the?"

Naruto kicked the guard that came at him, then slashed the guard a few times in the chest.

Kada punched the first guard in the face, then grabbed him and tossed him into the wall. A second guard came at him with his sword, then pulled out a needle and struck the guard's arm with it, disabling it. Kada punched him two times, then finished him with a third punch. Kada turned to the two archers at the other side of the room and saw that they had fired arrows at him. Kada ducked, and heard someone grunt in pain. Behind him, the first guard collapsed with two arrows in his chest. Naruto finished off the guard attacking him and rushed towards the first archer and started slashing him before he could fire an arrow. The second archer readied his bow at Naruto, but Kada reached him and struck him in the neck with a needle. Naruto finished off the first archer with a slash, and they headed into another hallway. At the end was a wooden drawbridge which was currently raised, and a lever was next to it.

"Let's see where this goes." Said Naruto as he pulled the lever. As soon as the drawbridge was lowered, Naruto and Kada crossed it, and heard another roar as the hallway behind them caved in, and a rock smashed the drawbridge.

"Heh, guess we're not going back that way." Said Kada.

Naruto looked around the room they were now in. It was a cave, with a stream coming from the left. Naruto and Kada followed the stream until they saw a passage on the right.

"Looks like the way ahead is a dead end, so we'll have to go right." Said Naruto. Going right, they found themselves in a room full of webs. Four giant spiders descended from the ceiling, and immediately, Naruto and Kada attacked the spiders. Naruto cut down the first spider that attacked, then sank his sword into the head of the second spider while Kada defeated the two that came after him with a series of punches and kicks. Leaving the spider nest through a tunnel on the left, they found themselves in a large cave with a stream going through the middle. But while traversing it, they found another problem.

"There's a bear up ahead." Kada whispered, pointing to the bear, which was between them and the next tunnel. Fortunately, it was sleeping.

"We can try to sneak past it." Naruto suggested.

Naruto and Kada crept past the bear, and into the tunnel. When they were far away, they moved at a normal pace until they saw light.

"There's the exit!" Said Naruto. He ran out of the cave, and was greeted to the sight of a forest.

Kada followed up behind him, and spotted the dragon flying nearby. "Get down!" He said, hiding behind a rock. The dragon gave one last roar before it flew away. "It's gone. I know where we can go. It's called Touka Village, it's not too far from this area, and I think they would be able to help you."

"Alright, lead the way." Said Naruto.

* * *

After a few hours of walking, Naruto and Kada had arrived at Touka Village. Along the way, Kada told Naruto that they were no longer in the Elemental Countries. Naruto felt many emotions: excitement, since he was exploring a whole new land, homesickness, since he was far away from Konoha, the only home he knew. But he had also felt an sense of duty, for he could not abandon a land and its people to a dragon. They made their way to the mansion, where Naruto saw a girl with black hair done up in a long side-ponytail. She was talking to a smaller girl with red hair.

"Kannu!" Kada called out. Kannu and the redhead stopped their conversation.

"Kada?" Kannu asked. "What happened? Who's your friend? You both look like you've been through some trouble."

"We have." Said Kada.

Kannu lead them to the dining room, where Kada and Naruto sat down.

"This is Naruto, he's from the Elemental Countries." Kada answered.

"Hello Naruto, I'm Kannu and this is Chouhi." Kannu told Naruto.

"Nice to meet you!" Chouhi greeted eagerly.

Naruto smiled at Chouhi's enthusiastic greeting. "Nice to meet you too."

"Anyway, a while back, someone stole some books from our libraries. I had managed to track it to General Citadel. But when I got to his fort, he had returned with Naruto, and that he wanted to remove something called the Kyuubi from him and use it to bring victory."

Kannu noticed that Naruto looked uncomfortable when the Kyuubi was mentioned.

"But before I could intervene, a dragon attacked." Kada answered.

"A dragon?" Kannu and Chouhi asked at the same time.

Kada nodded. "In the confusion, me and Naruto were able to escape."

"I see." Said Kannu. She then looked at Naruto. "If you need a place to stay, we have a spare room for you to stay in."

"Thank you." Said Naruto.

Kada stood up. "I'll stay for a bit longer, then I'll have to leave to tell the rest of the guild the news."

"Guild?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I'm from **THE WAY OF FIVE GRAINS!**" Kada answered, startling Naruto. "It's very important to give it the appropriate emphasis."

"I see." Said Naruto.

Suddenly, the doors opened and two girls came in. One was blonde-haired and the other had light purple hair and she wore a dark blue witch hat.

"Hello Kada." The blonde greeted. When she saw Naruto, she added, "Hello, I'm Shokatsuryou Koumei."

"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto greeted back.

"I'm Houtou." The girl in witch hat said shyly.

"Hi Houtou." Naruto said in a gentle voice. "It's nice to meet you."

Then a woman with purple hair came in followed a girl younger than Chouhi, Koumei and Houtou.

"Oh, a visitor!" Said the purple haired woman. "I'm Kouchuu, and this is my daughter Riri."

"Hi!" Said Riri.

"I'm Naruto." Naruto greeted.

"Very nice to meet you Naruto." Said a woman with blue hair and a white outfit as she walked into the dining room. "I'm Chouun."

Then two more girls came in.

"Hello, I'm Ryuubi." Said the first one, who had dark pink hair.

"I'm Gien." Said the other who wore a sleeveless black coat.

"I'm Naruto, nice to meet you both." Said Naruto.

Then two more came in. Both were girls with brown hair done up in ponytails, but one was around the same age as Kannu, Ryuubi and Chouun's age while the other was close to Chouhi, Koumei and Houtou's age.

"What's everyone-" The older one started to ask, but her question was answered when she saw Naruto. "Oh. I'm Bachou, and this is my cousin Batai." She said, gesturing to the younger one.

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Naruto." Naruto greeted.

Kada once again explained the situation to the rest of them, and once again, Naruto looked uncomfortable at the mention of the Kyuubi, which was also caught by Koumei.

"Naruto, what's a Kyuubi?" Chouhi asked.

Naruto became stiff at the question, not sure how or if he wanted to answer the question.

"Rinrin, I think that question might be personal for Naruto." Kannu told Chouhi.

"Rinrin? I thought her name was Chouhi." Naruto asked, glad to change the subject.

Koumei stayed silent while Kannu explained that Rinrin was Chouhi's true name, instead wondering why Naruto did not want to talk about the Kyuubi, though she had a feeling she knew why.

_Later that night. . ._

Naruto sat on his bed, thinking about what he would do tomorrow. While he would be staying in Touka Village, he would train in order to help assist them against the dragon.

His train of thought was interrupted when there was a knock on his door.

"Coming." He said. When he opened his door, he saw Koumei and Kada.

"Naruto, may we come inside?" Koumei asked.

"Sure." Answered Naruto. Koumei and Kada walked in.

"Close the door." Said Kada.

Naruto did so.

"Naruto, we both know you hold the Kyuubi no Yoko." Said Koumei.

Naruto tensed up in shock. "How-"

"I've read about the Jinchuuriki." Koumei answered.

"The books I was tracking down are related to them." Kada answered.

Naruto nodded, but he was still on edge.

"Naruto, I know you're scared that we might hate you for it, but we understand that it's a hardship that you didn't ask for." Said Koumei.

Naruto looked at Koumei and Kada's eyes, and saw no ill intent in them, and played Koumei's words in his head for a minute to realize they were sincere. Naruto finally relaxed, and leaned against the wall.

"I'm sorry. . ." Said Naruto.

"We understand." Said Kada. "Chouhi's question had more weight on it than she realized. But if General Citadel is after the Kyuubi, it might be best for you to tell the others soon rather than letting them learn it from him."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but it's not going to be easy to tell them."

"If it helps, I can help you explain if you have any trouble." Said Koumei.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Koumei. You're really smart you know."

Koumei smiled back. "Thanks." She said.

_The next day. . ._

As Kada suggested, Naruto, with the help of Koumei, had told the others about the Kyuubi. Ryuubi, Riri and Houtou thought that he was brave. Kannu, Chouhi, Bachou and Kouchuu thought he was strong. Gien, Batai and Chouun thought that Konoha were idiots because of how they treated Naruto.

Later, Kada left to inform the guild about the dragon, and Naruto had begun his training, first by choosing a new weapon. First, he went with Kannu to a blacksmith and Naruto saw something he liked.

"I like that sword." Naruto answered pointing to a greatsword sitting on a rack. After buying it, Naruto and Kannu headed back to the mansion.

"When get back, I'll help train you." Said Kannu.

"Really?" Naruto asked, excitement in his voice.

* * *

Naruto frowned. "You know, when I thought you said you would train me to use a greatsword, I thought I would be using an actual sword, not a wooden one." He said, holding the wooden greatsword in distain.

Kannu, who was wielding a wooden staff, jabbed Naruto in the chest with it.

"Hey!"

"If I was using an actual spear, I would have just stabbed you in the chest." Said Kannu. "We use wooden weapons so that we can practice and avoid anything serious if we do hit each other."

Naruto was about to counter when he thought back to when he was training in Konoha.

FLASHBACK

Naruto was visiting the hospital to see Kakashi and ask if he could train him for the Chunin Exams. In the waiting room, he saw two Konoha shinobi, one of them was holding his severed arm.

"What happened?" The uninjured shinobi asked.

"Well, me and a friend were sparring with our swords, I blocked, he saw an opening, and well here I am, waiting to get my arm reattached." The injured shinobi answered.

* * *

When Naruto was leaving the hospital afterwards, he saw a shinobi stumble in with kunai stuck in his arm and his hip. The secretary called for a some doctors to come help the man as fast as they can.

"What happened?" The secretary asked.

"Training accident." The shinobi grunted out.

FLASHBACK OVER

"You have a point." Said Naruto before readying the wooden greatsword.

* * *

Over the course of the next week, Naruto continued to train with Kannu. He also looked into the spell tome, which contained a short-ranged lightning spell called Sparks. After reading through it, Naruto decided to test the spell on a practice dummy. He aimed his hand at it, and lightning shot out at it. Naruto stopped, and looked at his hands, then at the slightly damaged dummy.

"Woah." Naruto said. He then aimed both hands at the dummy and fired lightning from them, destroying the dummy.

At the end of the week, Naruto was with Kannu, Chouhi, listening to their adventures.

"And then Touka leaped out of the bento and threw her sword at Ukitsu!" Said Chouhi.

"Then Kada sealed the book, stopping the stone army once and for all." Said Kannu.

"Wow." Said Naruto in amazement. He then looked at the mountain, and saw some ruins on it.

Kannu noticed where he was looking.

"That's Bleak Falls Barrow." Said Kannu. "The villagers say it's haunted by draugr."

"What's a draugr?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, some kind of monster I guess." Said Kannu.

Suddenly, Ryuubi ran up to them.

"I got a message from Sousou!" She said, handing the letter to Kannu.

Kannu thanked Ryuubi as she received the letter and read it.

"Naruto, Sousou wants to see you." Kannu told him.

"Sousou? Who's she?" Naruto asked.

"Sousou is the queen of Gi kingdom." Kannu explained. "If she heard about the dragon attack, then she would want to speak to someone who survived it."

Naruto nodded. "So when do we go?"

**Next chapter, Naruto meets Sousou of Gi, and then he explores a crypt.**


	3. The Dovahkiin

**Chapter 2: The Dovahkiin.**

Not too long after Naruto and Kannu entered the capital of Gi, they were met by a woman in blue and escorted to the palace. Once inside, she led them to a blond in a purple dress who sat on a throne.

"Lord Sousou, Kannu and the survivor have arrived." The woman told the blonde.

Sousou nodded. "Thank you Shuuran." She then looked at Kannu. "Kannu, very nice to see you again." She said. "I take it this is the survivor?"

"Yes, his name is Naruto Uzumaki." Kannu answered.

Sousou looked at Naruto.

"Step forward." She told him.

Naruto did so.

"Tell me, what brings a ninja of the Leaf Village all the way out to General Citadel's territory?" She asked, eyes fixated on him.

"You know where I'm from?" Naruto asked.

Sousou nodded. "I've heard of the Hidden Villages in the Elemental Countries. Now answer my question."

"I was on a mission when I was captured and brought west." Naruto answered.

"I see. Now then, about the dragon."

"Shortly after I was brought to his fort, the dragon attacked." Naruto explained.

Sousou nodded at the information, and thought about it for few moments before standing up. "I think there might be something you can do to help. Come with me." She said. She looked at Kannu with a smirk. "You too Kannu."

Sousou lead Naruto and Kannu into a room where three other women were looking at a map. One wore a yellow hood with cat ears, a blue coat and black shorts, one wore glasses, a sleeveless blue coat, a purple corset and skirt, and a pair of black gloves, and the last had funny eyebrows, long blonde hair, a light blue coat, a puppet on her head, and she was eating a lollipop.

"Keifa, Rin, Fu, I found someone who can help you with your project." Sousou told the girl eating the lollipop. "This is Naruto Uzumaki, he survived the dragon attack." She looked at Naruto. "Naruto, these are my strategists, Teiiku-" She introduced, gesturing to the girl. "Kakuka-" She said, pointing to the girl with glasses. "And Jun'iku." She finished, pointing to the girl with cat ears before walking away.

"So you really saw a dragon?" Kakuka asked. Seeing Naruto nod, she continued. "Anyway, we need you to fetch a stone tablet called the Dragonstone which is a map of all the dragon burial sites."

"By fetch, she means 'delve into an ancient crypt full of traps.'" Said Teiiku.

"What does this tablet have to do with the dragons?" Naruto asked.

"Well, he's not just a brute." Said Teiiku. "We think the Dragonstone can explain why the dragons are returning."

"So where is it located?" Naruto asked.

"It's in Bleak Falls Barrow, it's located close to Touka Village." Said Jun'iku. "Kannu should be able to help you out there."

"I think I can get you the Dragonstone." Said Naruto.

"Good." Said Teiiku. "I'll be sure to have something waiting for you when you return with it."

* * *

Naruto walked along the path to Bleak Falls Barrow, followed by Kannu and Chouhi. When Naruto and Kannu had returned to Touka Village, one of the villagers said that someone broke into his shop, stole the Golden Dragonclaw that he kept as a decoration, and headed for Bleak Falls Barrow. Naruto and Kannu explained the situation to the other girls, and Chouhi wanted to come along with her older sister. As they got higher on the mountain, the trees disappeared, and the grass and dirt was replaced by snow. Eventually, they reached the Barrow, and noticed four bandits standing on guard. They got closer, a bandit charged down the steps with a greatsword, followed by a bandit with an axe and shield while two archers supported them with bows. The bandit raised his greatsword above his head to deliver a powerful slash, but Naruto struck him with his sword's pommel then followed up with a slash to the stomach. The bandit with the axe and shield came forward and blocked a slash from Naruto, only for Chouhi to slash him from the side. One of the archers took aim at Naruto, only for Kannu to surprise him and cut him down with a single slash while Chouhi finished off the last archer. Naruto, Kannu and Chouhi entered the barrow. Inside, they saw several dead rats the size of a small dog, and a dead bandit. At the other end of the hall, they could see the glow of a fire. Moving towards the fire, they saw three bandits near it-a short bandit, a tall bandit, and a fat bandit. Naruto, Kannu and Chouhi caught them by surprise and cut them down, then moved past the bandit's camp and headed into the halls of the barrow. While keeping an eye out for enemies, Kannu also studied the halls. There were a few shelves and tables, carrying either burial urns or embalming tools. The stone floors had large vines creeping over it in a vague web-like pattern.

Eventually, the halls ended at a large room with a bandit already in it. The bandit didn't notice them and pulled a lever in front of a gate, only to drop dead as several darts were fired into him. As soon as the darts stopped, they walked into the room.

"Shit, how are we supposed to get past that?" Naruto asked.

Kannu studied the room, and noticed that above the gate, there were three engravings. The one on the left looked like a snake, while the one on the right looked like a fish. The engraving in the middle had broken off and lay on ground, showing a snake. On her left, there were three pillars that could be flipped, and that the pillars on left had the same snake as the engravings while the pillar in the middle had the same fish. Kannu moved up to the pillar in the middle and flipped it to see a bird, then flipped it again to see a snake.

"Naruto, Chouhi, I think we need to move these pillars so that they match the engravings on the wall." Said Kannu.

Naruto and Chouhi looked at the stones and the engravings.

"You're right Aisha!" Said Chouhi. "Can I help?"

Kannu nodded. "Move the stone on the right until it shows a fish."

Chouhi did so, and then Kannu moved to the lever.

'Here goes nothing. . .' She thought to herself, then pulled the lever.

As Kannu guessed, the gate opened, and they passed into the next room and went down a spiral staircase, and passed through a dusty room that was covered with webs. While walking down the hall, they heard a voice.

"Hello, is someone there?" The voice called out, coming from an opening on the left. "Shorty, Big Guy, I'm sorry I ran off."

After cutting through some thick webs covering the doorway, Naruto, Kannu and Chouhi found themselves in a large chamber covered with webs. To their left, there was a bandit caught in the webs, but a giant spider dropped from the ceiling. Naruto started slashing at it with his greatsword, then struck the spider with the pommel when it tried to bite him, then Kannu finished it off by stabbing it in the head.

"Thank you for saving me, now would you get me down?" Asked the trapped bandit.

"Do you have the Golden Dragonclaw?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, the claw. I know how it works. The claw, the markings, door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together!" Said the bandit. "Help me down, and I'll show you. You wouldn't believe the power the Nords have hidden there."

"Hand the Dragonclaw first!" Said Chouhi, not trusting the bandit.

"I can't! I can't move my arms!" The bandit shouted back in anger. "Cut me down and I'll give it to you!"

Naruto slashed at the web.

"It's working, I can feel the web weakening."

Naruto slashed it again, and the bandit collapsed to the ground. But as soon as the bandit got to his feet, he ran into the passageway behind him and the web that used to hold him while Naruto, Kannu and Chouhi gave chase.

"You fools, did you really think I would share the treasure with you?" The bandit taunted.

When they entered a crypt, Naruto stopped when he saw a corpse get up from its resting place. It was pale, its skin clung to its bones and its eyes were glowing blue. It wore armor, though it was tattered, and it wielded a war axe and a shield. It didn't take long for the trio to figure that this was a draugr. Kannu quickly killed it with her Green Dragon Crescent Blade. Up ahead, the bandit was caught between two more draugr. One was holding a war axe, and the other used a sword and shield. The bandit had a knife and tried to slash one of them, but it blocked with its shield and was struck down by the other draugr with its axe. Chouhi took both draugr down quickly. Afterwards, Naruto grabbed the Golden Dragonclaw and a journal from the dead bandit.

"Come on," Said Naruto, noticing a pressure plate in the path of next hallway with a spiked gate that lay open nearby. "Watch the pressure plate." He added, sidestepping it.

* * *

The trail was faint, but Team 8 was able to pick it up. They, along with Teams 7, 10 and Gai were sent to find Naruto after he had gone missing during a C-Rank. To their displeasure, they found that the trail lead out of the Elemental Countries, and even more so when the trail ended at a ruined village. They headed to the closest village and checked at the inn.

Shikamaru Nara, strategist of Team 10 walked up to the counter.

"What happened to the nearby village?" Shikamaru asked.

"You haven't heard?" The innkeeper asked. "It was a dragon. It flew over and burned it down with its fire breath."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Please, there's no such thing as a dragon." She said.

"There is! They're returning!" The innkeeper argued.

"Enough of this." Said Sasuke. "Have you seen an idiot with blonde hair, whiskers on his cheeks and a stupid orange outfit?"

"I have." Said one of the patrons. "I saw someone like that in Touka Village."

"How do we get there?" Asked Shikamaru.

* * *

After fighting more draugr and avoiding more traps, Naruto, Kannu and Chouhi reached the Hall of Stories. It was a short and straight hallway with pictures carved into the walls, depicting past events. At the end was a door with a slot for the Golden Dragonclaw, along with three rings above the slot. Naruto had taken a peak at the bandit's journal, but all it talked about was how he finally had the Dragonclaw, that the door was a test and that when you have the Dragonclaw, the answer is 'in the palm of your hands.' When they reached the door, Naruto placed the Dragonclaw on the lock and turned it.

Nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Chouhi asked.

"I don't know." Naruto answered, looking at the Golden Dragonclaw. "His journal said that the answer would be in the-"

He stopped when he noticed the symbols on the Golden Dragonclaw's palm, then looked at the rings above the slot. He moved the rings until they showed the same symbols as the Dragonclaw and in the same order, then turned the lock again.

This time the door slid open.

"Huh, it was in his palm." Said Naruto, gesturing to the Dragonclaw.

Beyond the door, it was natural cave.

"I wonder why they didn't carve any stone into this area?" Kannu asked.

They eventually came to a large cavern. There was a small, shallow stream flowing through it, a large rock with a chest, a table and a sarcophagus, along with steps leading to them. As they got closer, Naruto heard a faint chanting.

"Do you hear that?" Naruto asked.

"The stream?" Said Kannu.

"No, the chanting." Said Naruto.

"What chanting?" Kannu asked.

As they walked up the steps, they saw a smooth half circle was carved into the rock, and on this half circle a strange language was carved onto it. One of the words was glowing, beckoning Naruto towards it while Kannu searched the chest for the Dragonstone.

"Naruto, what is it?" Chouhi asked while following Naruto.

Naruto didn't answer, instead walking towards the glowing word while the chanting became louder. When he was close enough, a blue wind rushed out and flew into Naruto. As soon as it finished, the word stopped glowing.

"Naruto!"

Naruto looked at Chouhi and Kannu, who were looking at him with concerned faces.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Kannu asked. "You were focused on this wall."

Naruto gestured to the word that was glowing. "This word was glowing, and when I got close, something seeped into me and-"

"What are you talking about? That word wasn't glowing." Said Chouhi.

Naruto sighed. "Maybe this place is getting to me." He said. Kannu rubbed his back, earning her a smile.

"Wait a minute!" Said Chouhi, realizing something. "You can read this?" She asked, pointing to the wall.

"That word," Naruto said, pointing to the word again. "Says 'Fus,' it means force. That's all I know." He looked at Kannu. "Did you find the Dragonstone?"

Kannu shook her head. "It wasn't in the chest." She said. "Why don't get out of here and try again another time?"

Naruto nodded. He turned to leave-

-only for the lid on the sarcophagus to pop open and land on the ground with a heavy thud. A draugr stepped out, but this one was wearing tattered plate armor, a helmet with two large horns on it and it wielded a greatsword.

Kannu slashed the draugr, but its armor protected it from most of the damage. Kannu tried to make another slash, but the draugr blocked it with its sword, then took a breath brother saying in a quiet, raspy voice:

"**FUS!**"

A blue wave came out of the Draugr's mouth, causing Kannu to stagger back, and the Draugr moved to take advantage of the opening, only for Chouhi and Naruto to intercept, slashing the draugr several times before it blocked. The draugr brought its sword down on Naruto, who blocked the strike. Kannu rejoined the fight as she and Chouhi struck the draugr. Raising its greatsword back, the draugr swung it at Kannu who leapt away from the attack. The draugr took another breath.

"Oh no you don't!" Shouted Naruto as he struck the draugr with the pommel of it sword, knocking the wind out of it. Naruto then slashed its right leg, bringing the draugr to its knees before finishing it with a slash to its head.

"Glad that's over." Said Naruto before noticing something on the draugr. It was the Dragonstone. "Kannu, Chouhi! I found it!" He said, showing them the Dragonstone.

"Great! Now we can get out of here!" Said Chouhi.

To the left of the half-circle, there were some more stairs that lead to a switch, pulling it revealed a hidden door that revealed a tunnel that lead out of the barrow. They returned to Touka Village and returned the Golden Dragonclaw to the villager, who was grateful for its return and rewarded them with some gold, then left to give the Dragonstone to Teiiku.

* * *

Naruto headed for Kakuka, Teiiku and Jun'iku while Kannu and Chouhi waited. As he got closer he heard a conversation.

"Can you translate it?" Asked a fourth, unknown voice.

"I will as soon as our client returns with it." Teiiku answered.

"If he returns with it." Said Jun'iku.

"Keifa! Have some faith!" Kakuka replied.

It was then Naruto stepped into the room.

"Nice to hear how much you believed in my abilities." Naruto said to Jun'iku. He then handed the Dragonstone to Teiiku. "Here, now what happens next?"

"That's where your job ends and ours begin." Said Teiiku. "As for your reward, you'll want to speak to Sousou for it." Teiiku looked at the stranger, a woman in leather armor who had most of her face obscured by a hood. "This is Naruto, the one who got the Dragonstone for us."

"You braved Bleak Falls Barrow?" The woman asked. "That's impressive."

The woman left the room before Shuuran ran in.

"Sousou wants to speak to you Naruto." Said Shuuran. "Keifa, you should come too."

The three went to Sousou, who was with Kannu, Chouhi, a woman in red and a guard.

"Good, you're here." Said Sousou. She then looked at the guard. "Now tell them what you told us."

"There was a dragon circling the watchtower on the western road. I ran as fast I could." The guard explained.

"Shuuran, Shunran, gather some troops." Sousou ordered. "Naruto, you're going with them, you have most experience with dragons."

"I'll come along." Said Kannu.

"Me too!" Chouhi added enthusiastically.

_Later, near the watchtower. . ._

Naruto, Kannu, Chouhi, Shuuran and Shunran (Or rather, Kakouen and Kakoton, as Shuuran and Shunran were their true names) and the team of soldiers helping them at the watchtower. It was deserted, and parts of it were on fire.

"Search for any survivors." Kakoton ordered.

The group split up to search the outpost and the surrounding area. Naruto teamed up with a soldier and headed towards the watchtower. As they close to the entrance, a guard ran out.

"No, stay away!" The guard shouted. His eyes were constantly switching from looking at Naruto and the soldier to staring at the sky. "It took Lee and Shen when they tried to make a run for it." The guard's eyes widen. "Oh no, it's coming back!"

Everyone heard a roar as a brown dragon soared through the sky. Kakouen and several soldiers pulled out bows and started firing arrows at the dragon. The dragon landed on the ground, and some of the soldiers pulled out their swords and charged at it. The dragon roasted them with its fire breath, only to get attacked by Kannu and Kakoton. The dragon snapped at Kannu, but she leapt out of the way. It prepared to the bite Kakoton, only to get interrupted by a powerful strike from Chouhi. The dragon took off into the air and circled the fighters before landing close to Naruto. Naruto and the soldier took cover behind some rubble as the dragon tried to incinerate them. Once its fire breath stopped, Naruto and the soldier rushed out and attacked. The dragon clamped its mouth on the soldier's upper body, shook him a times before tossing him aside. Naruto slashed at the dragon, dodging its attempts to chomp on him until it took off again. It circled the watchtower before landing in front of Kakoton.

Kakoton did not show any fear as it prepared to unleash its fire breath on her-

-Only for a greatsword to fly into the dragon's chest, killing it.

Kakoton looked in the direction of the sword, and saw Naruto, who must have thrown his sword to save her.

"Thank you." She said.

Naruto nodded, watching as Kakouen raced to see if her sister was okay. He walked towards the dragon to pull his sword out and make sure it was dead. But when he got close, the dragon's skin started to burn off in flakes.

"Everyone, get back!" Kakoton shouted.

Everyone did, watching the dragon continued to burn, and an orange wind to fly out and rush into Naruto.

"Aisha, what's going on?" Chouhi asked.

"I don't know." Kannu answered.

Soon the dragon stopped burning leaving only a skeleton, and the wind had also stopped.

'What just happened?' Naruto, Kakouen, Kakoton and Kannu thought in confusion.

"I don't believe it, you're the Dragonborn!" One of the surviving soldiers said to him.

"Dragonborn? What's that?" Naruto asked.

"The Dragonborn is said to be able to kill dragons and absorb their power." The soldier explained. "That's what you did, right? You absorbed their power."

"I. . . think I did." Naruto answered.

"There is a way to prove it. It's said the Dragonborn can Shout. Why don't you try Shouting?" The soldier suggested.

'Shout?' Naruto thought to himself. 'But I don't know any-'

He then thought back to the Barrow, where he read that strange word, and the draugr that guarded it, who said the same word to make Kannu stagger.

"**FUS!**" Naruto Shouted, causing a blue wave to fly out of his mouth and kick up dust.

"That was Shouting, wasn't it?" Said the soldier.

"Wow, that's amazing Naruto!" Chouhi said in amazement.

"Indeed!" Said another soldier. "This will be quite a tale to tell the others! We slayed a dragon, and we have the Dragonborn on our side!"

_Touka Village. . ._

"What do you mean he's not here?" Sasuke demanded.

"He's on an errand." Bachou answered.

Not too long after Naruto, Kannu and Chouhi left to deliver the Dragonstone to Sousou, twelve people came to Touka Village claiming to look for Naruto.

Actually, it was more like they came in, demanding where Naruto was while insulting and belittling him.

"Then when will the Baka be back?" Sasuke demanded.

"We don't know," Gien answered. "So why don't be patient and wait for him to return."

Inside, Gien wanted to smash Sasuke's face in due to how obnoxious he was being.

"Errand? I bet the baka is gonna mess it up somehow." Sakura said to Ino.

Before Bachou or Gien could say anything, they heard thunder, despite the sky being clear.

_Go Faction. . ._

"So it's true?" Sonsaku, queen of the Go faction asked. Standing before her was Shuuyu, her strategist and Rikuson, Shuuyu's disciple.

"Yes," Shuuyu answered. "One of General Citadel's forts was destroyed by a dragon."

Sonsaku nodded. "Rikuson, check everything we have on dragons."

Rikuson nodded, and ran off to the Son family library.

"Anything else?" Sonsaku asked.

"Yes, before the fort was destroyed, General Citadel had returned from the east. What he wanted there, we don't know."

Sonsaku nodded.

But the conversation was interrupted by thunder even though it was sunny.

_En Faction. . ._

Enshou watched the tournament unfold before her. Two fighters battled, though she wasn't paying attention. During the past week, there were rumours of a dragon returning and burning down a village. Her advisors, Bunshuu and Ganryou told her not to worry about it (Though Bunshuu was initially about getting as many archers as they had to watch the skies until Ganryou talked her out of it. She is the smartest, since she does have an intelligence of 36). The battle finished, and the next round was about to start.

"Ready?" The announcer asked. But before she could start the match, they heard thunder despite not being stormy enough.

_To Faction. . ._

"Yue!"

A maid, who was dusting a table, stopped and turned to see Toutaku's strategist Kaku approaching her.

"Yue, I know you're not governess anymore, but do you really have to continue being a maid?" Kaku asked.

Yue, which was the true name of Toutaku, giggled.

"I'm sorry Ei." She said with a smile. "But I need to do something!"

"Well, you could do something else!" Said Kaku. She saw Ryofu and her strategist Chinkyuu pass by. "Don't you two agree that she should do something other than be a maid?" She asked them.

Ryofu looked at Toutaku, then Kaku, then back to Toutaku.

"There are some shelves that need dusting." Ryofu told Toutaku.

Kaku face palmed.

But before she could argue, they heard thunder, though they knew that it was sunny outside.

_Back with Naruto. . ._

After Naruto had recovered his sword from the dragon and the some of the dragon's bones were taken, the group headed back to Sousou. They got close to the gate when they heard thunder, followed by the sound of an old man's voice that was also heard across the land.

_"DOVAHKIIN!"_

"What was that?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, we'll deal with it later." Said Kakoton.

When they entered the palace, Naruto approached Sousou.

"So, did you slay the dragon?" Sousou asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, it's dead." He answered.

Sousou leaned forward. "Anything else?"

"I think I might be something called the Dragonborn." Naruto answered.

"Dragonborn? How do you know?" Sousou asked.

"When I killed the dragon, I absorbed some kind of power from it." Naruto answered.

Sousou leaned back. "So it's true." She said. "The Graybeards were calling you."

The Kako sisters and Kannu looked at Naruto in amazement.

"They will be able to teach you about your gift, but to do so, you will have to climb the Seven Thousand Steps to High Hrothgar." Sousou told him. "Anyway, for stopping the dragon and recovering the Dragonstone for Teiiku, I'm allowing you to purchase property in my city, and you are now considered part of Gi's nobility."

"Thank you." Said Naruto.

"You should go, it's not good to keep the Graybeards waiting." Said Sousou.

Naruto nodded, and left with Kannu and Chouhi following.

Once they were gone, a smirk crept onto Sousou's face.

"What is it?" Kakouen asked.

"That Naruto interests me." Sousou told her. He is a powerful warrior, and while he's just staying with Shoku, perhaps she could convince him to join her side.

He might even be the first man she'll let into her bed.

* * *

When Naruto, Kannu and Chouhi returned to Touka Village, they were greeted by one of the village guards, a peasant with a spear and leather breastplate.

"Thank goodness you're back!" Said the guard. "Some travellers from the east had arrived at the manor, demanding for Naruto. You better go see them soon, they're arguing but I think a fight's gonna break out."

Naruto ran towards the manor with Kannu and Chouhi behind him. But when he reached the manor, he stopped.

"What is it Naruto?" Kannu asked.

At the mention of his name, Team 7 turned around to face Naruto, along with Team 8, Team 10, and Team Gai.

**For the next chapter, Naruto will be returning to Konoha.**


	4. Betrayal of the Leaf

**ddcj1990 and bankai777: While he does go back, this chapter is about him getting tired of Konoha's bullcrap, causing them to lose his loyalty and he will leave at the beginning of the next chapter.**

**Guest A: Really? Because I was afraid of going overboard with detail. That said, I will try to add more detail.**

**Haseo55: The 'lightning' was the Greybeards speaking, and Enjutsu, the Chou sisters and the Nanban Barbarians heard it, even if they weren't shown.**

**Chapter 3: Betrayal of the Leaf.**

"So dobe, this is where you ran off to?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto frowned. He gets kidnapped, and the first thing they do when they find him is to insult him?

"I'm fine thanks for asking, and yes, I came here after I was attacked by a dragon."

"Again with this dragon nonsense?" Sasuke asked. "There's no such thing."

"Yes there is!" Chouhi argued. "We just got back from fighting one!"

"So you're listening to little girls now? You really are an idiot." Sasuke mocked.

Chouhi was about to shout back at Sasuke, but was stopped when Kannu put her hand on Chouhi's shoulder.

"What are you here for?" Kannu asked.

"We're here to bring back Naruto." Neji answered. "Even if we have to use force."

"What?" Chouhi shouted.

Naruto sighed. "Fine, but can I say bye first?"

"Fine." Said Sasuke. "Make it quick."

"Why?" Chouhi asked Naruto.

"I'm a Konoha ninja." Naruto answered. "I know that the dragons are important, but I can't just abandon Konoha. I'll tell the Hokage about it, maybe she will listen."

He moved towards the rest of the girls, ignoring the teams from Konoha as he passed them.

"Well," Said Naruto, having trouble finding the proper words. "I guess this it. Thank you for letting me stay with you."

"Your welcome Naruto." Kouchuu replied. "Stay safe and watch out for danger."

"It was nice meeting you." Ryuubi said sadly.

"Goodbye Naruto." Said Koumei.

"Hurry up you baka!" Sakura shouted.

With one last wave, Naruto turned around and left Touka Village with the four teams from Konoha.

* * *

The path that the teams took back into the Elemental Countries was the only one into Kaze no Kuni. The other paths lead into either Tsuchi no Kuni or the country that was sandwiched between Kaze and Tsuchi.

As Naruto was brought into the Hokage Mansion, he spotted three strange-looking people. They had yellow skin, and one wore black robes while the other two wore dark yellow armor that had a bird-like design.

He was brought into Tsunade's office, where the teams were quickly debriefed and left, leaving Tsunade to deal with him.

"According to their report, you escaped and were free for a week, yet you didn't bother to return." Tsunade told him. "Why?"

"Dragons have returned." Naruto answered. "I did not want to abandon the people who helped me to them."

"Even if that story was true, the dragons are not your problem." Tsunade told him. "You should have returned to Konoha as soon as you could have. You will be stuck with D-Rank missions for the next three weeks. Now get out, I have to meet with someone important, and then I have to finish finding applicants for Suna's Chunin Exams."

"Can I sign up?" Naruto asked. "I'm the only Genin while my team mates and friends are Chunin."

Tsunade thought about it for a second. "Fine." She told him.

Naruto opened the door, and saw the strange people from before. The one in the black robe had her hood down, and he saw her pointy ears, yellow eyes and long pale blonde hair. He moved past them, while they stepped into the office.

"Welcome to Konohagakure no Sato." Tsunade told the woman in the black robe as she sat down.

"Thank you." Said the woman. "I am Elenwen, I'm here to establish diplomatic ties between Konoha and the Aldmeri Dominion."

_Touka Village. . ._

Kannu slowly ate her meal, unnerved by the silence that had overtaken the rest of the table. Normally, the girls would be talking, Chouhi, Bachou and occasionally Batai would be fighting over food, while Chouun and occasionally Batai would tease the others. But tonight, that did not happen. Everyone was eating quietly, each one looking like they wanted to say something.

The silence was then interrupted by Gien slamming down her chopsticks.

"Alright, what were we thinking?" She said. "Just letting Naruto walk away with those jerks from Konoha. We should have said or done something!"

"Maybe we should have told them that he was the Dragonborn." Said Chouhi.

"Chouhi, they didn't believe us about the dragons." Koumei told her. "I don't think they would believe that either, and if they did, they wouldn't believe he's it."

"Should we go after him?" Ryuubi asked.

"First, we would need a map of the Elemental Countries so we could find Konoha." Said Kannu.

"I think the library might have a map." Said Koumei.

"Good." Said Kannu.

"Say Kannu, didn't you go to the Elemental Countries a while back?" Bachou asked.

"No, that was The Continent." Kannu answered.

"Oh yeah, to fight in the Queen's Blade Tournament." Kouchuu replied.

"Did you win?" Chouhi asked.

Everyone looked at Kannu in interest while she nervously thought back to when she had participated in the tournament. . .

FLASHBACK

Kannu lay on the ground defeated, her clothes shredded from the battle.

"And the winner is Leina!" Said the announcer as cheers rose from the stands.

FLASHBACK OVER

"No." Kannu answered. "Anyway, if we're going to see Naruto, it should be to just check up on him."

"I guess." Bachou answered.

"That sounds good, but only a few of us should go." Said Chouun.

"Good point." Said Kannu. "In that case I'll go."

"So will I." Said Chouun. "Shuri can come along too."

As soon as they finished eating, Kannu, Chouun and Koumei packed up for a trip to the Elemental Countries.

"Sei, why did you want me to come along?" Koumei asked.

"I figured you would want to see your boyfriend again." Chouun answered.

Koumei blushed at the comment. "W-what? Naruto's not my boyfriend!" She said.

"Sure." Chouun replied with a smirk.

_Sunagakure, one week later. . ._

Naruto walked down the street, passing shops and people. He had succeeded in passing the first two parts of the Chunin Exams, the preliminary rounds of the third part, and now he was heading for the training grounds to practice.

"Naruto?"

Naruto turned around and saw three people in cloaks. One wore white, the others wore black, though one was shorter than the others. But one look at their faces, and he knew who they were.

"Kannu, Koumei, Chouun?" Naruto said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"We wanted to visit you to see how you were doing." Kannu answered. "It. . . didn't feel right that they showed you no respect and that you just went with them, even though they are your comrades."

Naruto gave a slight nod. "I know." He then smiled. "At least, I've got another shot at Chunin Rank."

"What rank are you right now?" Kannu asked.

Naruto looked away in embarrassment. "Genin. I'm still a Genin while all of my friends are Chunin and at least one is Jonin."

Koumei frowned. From what she read, Genin was the lowest rank for active ninja, and for him to still be there while his friends have moved up. . .

A thought struck Koumei. "If you become Chunin, you could be hired for a long-term mission, right?"

"Yeah, I think so." Said Naruto. "I might have to go along with a team, but why?"

"Maybe if you become Chunin we could hire you for a mission to fight the dragons."

Another idea hit, this time with Kannu. When they travelled to Konoha, they learned that Naruto was at the Chunin Exams in Suna, and that next month they would show the finals, which sounded like a tournament.

"I heard the finals are like a tournament, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, next month." Naruto answered. "Why?"

"Then it's time we continue your training." Kannu answered.

* * *

Former Eunuch Choujou walked into General Citadel's war room, where the man stood by, looking at a map, along with General Obelisk, a man in a dark purple robe, ebony gauntlets and a plain ebony mask with only a pair of eyeholes for him to see out of.

A while back, she had attempted to conquer the land with the aid of a man called Ukitsu, who had a powerful book called the Crucial Keys to the Way of Peace in his possession. She disposed of Kashin, the Great General of the Kan Imperial Forces and then invited Toutaku to join Kan's court, where she then had her imprisoned while using her forces as patsies to uphold harsh laws and force the citizens of the Imperial City to work on big projects, generating the resentment needed to power up the Crucial Keys. But when she tried to have Enshou's status as a noble removed, En had formed an alliance with Shoku, Gi and Go that resulted in Toutaku escaping and To defecting to the alliance. For this failure, Ukitsu turned her into a mouse. But in spite of said failures, the Crucial Keys had enough power for Ukitsu to bring the Terracotta Army to life, and she was able to earn her human form back by alerting him to the alliance's plans to stop him, though it didn't help him much because the alliance ended up killing him and sealing the Crucial Keys, stopping his army. Unfortunately, her crimes were revealed by Kashin, and she lost her position and was forced to flee for her life. This ended up with her coming into the service of General Citadel. Like Ukitsu, Citadel wanted to rule the land, though he said that the Elemental Countries would have the power to crush their enemies.

"Anything on the Jinchuuriki?" General Citadel asked.

"He's in Suna, training for the Chunin Exams." General Obelisk answered.

General Citadel snorted in disgust.

"Will you attempt to capture him again?" General Obelisk asked.

"Not yet." Answered the General.

"But what about the dragons?" Choujou asked.

"I have men watching the skies." General Citadel answered.

"And the Dragonborn?" General Obelisk asked.

"Irrelevant." General Citadel answered.

_One month later. . ._

Kannu, Chouun and Koumei sat down in their seats at Suna's stadium.

"There's plenty of nobles in the stadium." Kannu said to her friends, noticing the many merchants, bankers, Daimyos and their guards occupying nearly every private booth.

"The finals are also used to attract business to the hidden villages." Koumei replied. "If a Genin makes a good impression on the nobles, the nobles will hire them or their village."

* * *

Two men and a woman in black clothes and hoods sat in the seats. One of the men kept fidgeting in his seat.

"Why did we have to come out all they way out here?" He asked. "I can't stand all this heat, and sand, and sun, and-"

"You know very well why we're here." Answered the woman. "Now shut up and quit squirming around!"

* * *

Temari walked down to the arena while taking a quick look at the seats around it. It was packed, but there were also plenty of nobles that they wanted to impress.

"Welcome to the Chunin Exam Finals!" She announced once she reached the middle of the arena. "Today, these Genin shall compete for the chance to become Chunin!" The crowd cheered in excitement. When it died down, Temari continued. "Will Naruto Uzumaki and Konohamaru Sarutobi come down to the arena?"

* * *

Naruto walked down to the arena, glancing at the audience while he did. He spotted Kannu, Chouun and Koumei (Who waved at him) in one section of the crowd and saw his team mates, along with teams 8, 10 and Gai in another section.

"Hey boss, looks like we're facing off against each other!" Konohamaru shouted.

"Listen up, these are the rules." Temari explained. "One: No blades longer than a katana."

Naruto frowned. He couldn't use his greatsword, not that he wanted to split Konohamaru in half anyway. But it also means that he can't use it to defend himself either.

"Two: No more than three Shadow Clones can be made."

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked.

"Come on, boss! They have to make it fair!" Said Konohamaru.

"Fair? I could've sworn that anything went, or at least you couldn't kill your opponent." Said Naruto.

"Begin!" Temari shouted.

Naruto rushed at Konohamaru and threw a punch. Konohamaru leapt away and made two Shadow Clones. Naruto punched the first one, then grabbed the second Shadow Clone and threw it at Konohamaru. Konohamaru dodged it, and threw some shuriken. Naruto jumped out of the way and fired a stream of lightning at him.

"When did that baka learn to shoot lightning?" Sakura asked.

* * *

Kannu, Chouun and Koumei watched the match, suspecting that something wasn't right with the battle. Naruto couldn't fight at his strongest while his opponent could.

Koumei looked at Temari, who was looking at someone in one of the entrances to the arena. Following Temari's gaze, Koumei spotted a man in a red vest and long white hair.

* * *

"Naruto, you can't use that." Temari told him.

"Why not?" Naruto asked, dodging a kick from Konohamaru.

"Because that is not jutsu." Temari answered.

"Then what am I supposed to fight him with? Sticks and curse words?" Naruto asked in anger.

"If you keep arguing with me, you'll be disqualified." Temari replied.

Naruto growled in anger and made three Shadow Clones. Two of them moved to hold off Konohamaru while one stayed with Naruto to help make a Rasengan.

"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!" Konohamaru shouted, covering the Shadow Clones in a cloud of gunpowder, then igniting a match and throwing it into the cloud.

**BOOM!**

"Fuck!" Naruto shouted before focusing back on his Rasengan. Just a bit longer, and it would be ready to use.

Konohamaru threw a kunai at the Shadow Clone, dispersing it and interrupting the Rasengan before it was completed.

Naruto shouted in anger while Konohamaru used Ash Pile Burning again, covering Naruto in a cloud of gunpowder, but Naruto leaped out of the cloud and punched Konohamaru in chest, sending him sliding across the arena floor on his back.

Konohamaru got back onto his feet and created three Shadow Clones. All four pulled out a kunai and rushed at Naruto. Instinctively, Naruto raised his hands and fired a stream of lightning, destroying the Shadow Clones and stopping Konohamaru's charge.

"Naruto Uzumaki is disqualified." Temari announced. "Konohamaru wins!"

* * *

"He lost to Konohamaru?" Sakura said. "What a baka!"

"Naruto, you baka!" Kiba shouted.

Soon, the audience had joined in calling Naruto a baka.

Ino stood up to shout, but she noticed Hinata walking away from her seat.

"Hinata where are you going?" Ino asked.

"Who cares?" Sakura replied.

Ino shrugged, then cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Naruto you stupid baka!" She shouted.

* * *

"The one in orange holds the Kyuubi right?" The woman asked.

"Yes." The second man answered. "That's what our thralls said."

A smirk came onto the woman's pale face.

"Then we've found another one." She said.

* * *

Kannu, Chouun and Koumei left the stadium shortly after Naruto did and tracked him to a training ground. All the practice dummies had been destroyed, and Naruto sat on a rock while his greatsword lay on the ground next to him.

"Naruto?" Kannu called out.

Naruto looked at her, then stood up. He did not know if he should apologise, or say if he was set up.

"You were sabotaged." Said Koumei. "I think the referee might have been convinced to change the rules by a man with white hair and a red vest."

Naruto frowned as he thought of the one man who matched that description.

"Jiraiya. . ." He said.

"Do you know him?" Kannu asked.

"He's supposed to be my sensei." Naruto answered bitterly.

"He's not a good sensei then." Said Chouun.

"No he's not." Naruto replied. He picked up his greatsword and put it away. "I guess I better go. Thank you for everything, and. . ." He struggled to say the last word. "G-goodbye."

Kannu and Koumei gave him a hug while Chouun gave him a nod. The four parted ways, three to head back to Touka Village, and one to return to Konoha.

While they walked back home, Chouun had thought of thing from looking at Naruto's face.

'See you soon.'

* * *

To Naruto's chagrin, Konohamaru had been promoted to Chunin, and to rub it in, Konohamaru had started calling him his subordinate.

The first thing a humiliated and frustrated Naruto did when he got home was to throw his hitai-ite into the photo of Team 7 that sat on his end table. That photo did not show a team, nor could he look at the faces of Kakashi and Sasuke.

Once he calmed down, Naruto decided to go get some ramen from Ichiraku's Ramen. As he walked down the street, he spotted Tsunade and Jiraiya walking ahead of him.

"Are you sure that was wise?" Tsunade asked.

"What was?" Jiraiya asked.

"Sabotaging Naruto's chances at becoming Chunin." Tsunade answered.

Interested, Naruto followed them from afar so that the Sannin would not notice him.

"So?" Jiraiya asked.

"So I want to know why did you sabotage your own apprentice?" Tsunade asked once more. "Why did you think that he didn't deserve to be Chunin?"

"Do you really think he's cut out for it?" Jiraiya answered. "Do you really think he needs to be saddled with all the responsibility that comes with the rank when he should be getting stronger?"

"Shouldn't he have been given the choice to reject it?" Tsunade asked.

"Come on hime, he's an idiot." Jiraiya answered. "It's much easier just to fool with him and let him figure things out for himself."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tsuande asked. "At some point he'll get fed up of that kind of treatment."

"No he won't, not as long as it keeps him occupied and out of my hair." Jiraiya answered. "Now if you excuse me, I need to work on my newest Icha Icha book."

Naruto stopped following the Sannin once they parted ways. He headed back towards Ichiraku's but as he did, he started forming a plan to leave Konoha.

After all, the Greybeards were waiting.

**Alright, next chapter Naruto escapes Konoha and makes his way to High Hrothgar.**


	5. Escape from Konoha

**1v2: Oh don't worry, Naruto will fight Jiraiya later on, but for now, Naruto just wants to get out of Konoha. As for Hinata, she loves him, but Hinata won't be joining the harem, that said, I do plan on her leaving Konoha and aiding Naruto in a later chapter.**

**Phantom Dark-Knight: Maybe. And she might also be joined by Gengan and Kougai.**

**jgreek: Thank you.**

**Dregus and Draph91: Indeed.**

**bankai777: That's a bit much. As I said above, Naruto wants to get out of Konoha. That said, Konoha will be running into some problems next chapter.**

**Samus Star: I see you got the reference.**

**Pensuka: Done!**

**Chapter 4: Escape from Konoha.**

It was dark when Naruto left his apartment to escape Konoha. As he approached the gate to Konoha, he saw that there was nobody there.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto spun around face the speaker.

"Hinata?" He asked, eyes widened.

"Naruto-kun, I was going to visit you," Hinata explained. "But I saw you leave your apartment to-" Hinata looked behind Naruto, and saw the village gate. "Are you leaving?" She asked in a whisper.

Naruto nodded.

"Is it because of what happened at the Chunin Exams?" Hinata asked.

"No." Naruto answered. "While I'm pissed at that, that's not the reason, or at least the only reason."

Naruto then told her what he heard Jiraiya say about him. Suffice to say, the Hyuuga was angry at the Toad Sannin.

"What's the other reason?" She asked as she calmed down.

Naruto sighed. "I know you don't believe that the dragons are real, but I don't want to wait until they decide to come here for Konoha to believe that they're real. But there was also something that was calling for me, something could help me fight them."

Hinata thought back to the mission to find Naruto, the ruined village they had reached an initial dead end at, and that the people in the western lands did believe that the dragons are real and that they were returning. If all of that is true, then. . .

"Before you go Naruto, I just want to say that I'm sorry." Hinata told him.

"For what?" Naruto asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"I should have tried to be your friend, but I was too shy to do that. And also," Hinata looked away from him, pressing her fingers together. "I've. . . I've always loved you."

That surprised Naruto. He looked away to figure out what to say to her.

"Well. . . D-do you want to come with me?" He asked.

Hinata shook her head.

"I can't Naruto-kun." Hinata answered. "I can't abandon Konoha."

"I see." Naruto said in sadness.

"But I won't stop you from leaving." Hinata told him.

A smile crept onto Naruto's face as he looked back at her.

"Thanks Hinata" He said, taking a few steps backwards. "Goodbye." He then turned around and left Konoha.

Hinata watched him leave before turning around and heading back to the Hyuuga compound.

"Goodbye." She whispered.

* * *

Naruto walked along the forest pathway, keeping an eye out for trouble when he saw three dogs leap out of the bushes and rush at him. But while they charged, he noticed that they weren't normal hounds. They had red eyes, and there was a black mist rising from their bodies. One leapt at him at got close, but Naruto dodged, readying his hands. It was then five bandits leapt out of the bushes, along with an individual with neck-length messy brown hair who wore what looked like a light gray longcoat that was made of leather. He also wore a gray belt above his waist, black bracers, black pants, black boots with metal toes and two belts around the ankles. But what truly stood out was the man's face. His skin was eerily pale, his cheeks were narrowed, his nose looked like a bat's nose, there was red line running from said nose to his chin, and his eyes were an orange-gold.

"Give up, you can't win!" Said the stranger.

"Try me." Said Naruto.

"So arrogant." He said. "Soon, I shall have you on your knees, and you will become my thrall." As he finished, a sinister grin appeared across his face, revealing his fangs.

The bandits, which were really the vampire's thralls charged to attack, but Naruto blasted the closest one with lightning until it fell. Naruto then blasted a dog that was charging at him while the other two circled him. It was then he noticed that the dogs had no fur, dark gray skin with holes and a collar with a large dark metal collar around their necks. Suddenly, a blue aura surrounded the dead thrall, who started to rise back onto his feet while parts of his body were glowing blue.

Naruto pulled out his greatsword and made a downward slash at the resurrected thrall. When it collapsed, it disintegrated into a pile of ashes.

Naruto dodged an ice spike shot at him by the vampire before cutting down a thrall with an axe, then slicing another thrall. Naruto slashed at an undead dog that was running towards him, then blocked a strike from another thrall. Once again, one of the dead thralls rose back onto his feet. Naruto dodged another ice spike from the vampire and a slash from the second resurrected thrall. Naruto broke away from the thralls and the undead dog and hit the vampire with a powerful downward strike.

The vampire hissed before saying, "I'll have you fed to the death hounds for that."

Naruto finished the vampire with a slash. The resurrected thrall collapsed into a pile of ashes while the final two thralls and the last death hound rushed ahead to attack Naruto, only to get cut down by his greatsword.

Naruto slung the sword on his back and continued on.

'Vampires?' Naruto thought to himself. 'I thought they were myths, but then again, so were the dragons.'

"Hello Traveler!"

Naruto was shaken from his thoughts by the call. Up ahead, there were three Konoha ninja.

"Come, there is something you should see!" Said one of the ninja.

Naruto walked up and saw three bodies in their underwear, then glance at the ninja and saw that they had orange-gold eyes and red lines running from their noses to their chins.

"You fool," Said the vampire as they pulled out a kunai. "Now you'll become my thrall!"

Naruto blasted the speaking vampire with lightning, then aimed the streams of lightning at the other two as they got closer. Naruto stepped out of the ambush, then focused his lightning on the vampire closest to him shocking him until he dropped, then focused on the second as he charged at Naruto with his kunai. The vampire soon fell, and Naruto fired at the final vampire, only for him to disappear.

"Shit!" Said Naruto. He kept his hands raised, ready to blast the vampire. A few seconds later, the final vampire jumped out, kunai in one hand and his other hand glowing red. Naruto focused the blast of lightning on the vampire, stopping him before he got too close.

'Vampires again? Are they after me?' Naruto thought as he looked at the dead vampires.

* * *

Naruto continued down the path towards Kaze no Kuni. but as he neared the exit of Konoha's forests, several figures stepped out of the bushes. In front of him were eight vampires, some wearing the same longcoat as the first vampire, while others were wearing a black version of that longcoat and the ones worn by female vampires showed off their cleavage. Behind him with ten thralls, some which were Konoha ninja, and five death hounds.

"You're certainly a strong one, Naruto Uzumaki." Said a female voice.

A ninth vampire stepped out of the bushes. Like the others, she wore the longcoat, but hers was red with red bracers and black sleeves.

"You know who I am?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Yes, I watched you at the Chunin Exams." The vampire answered. "And since my subordinates have failed to catch you, I'll give you an offer. Join me and become a vampire, or resist in futile and become my thrall."

"I choose neither." Naruto answered, pulling out his greatsword.

"Then so be it, mortal." Said the vampire.

Naruto cleaved through the lesser vampires and thralls, dodging lightning bolts, ice shards, weapon strikes and death hound bites. He then planted his sword into the ground, starting firing streams of lightning at his foes before taking up his sword once again to finish off the rest of the enemies until only the vampire in the red coat was left. Naruto ran at the vampire and slashed her, while she had one of her hands pointed at him, glowing red and making a stream of red orbs fly out of Naruto and into her. She fired a bolt of lightning from her other hand, hurting Naruto. Naruto struck her with the pommel of his greatsword, then slashed her one more time before running her through. Naruto then yawned.

"All this fighting is making me tired." He said. "Better find somewhere to sleep."

_The next day. . ._

It was the start of another training session with Team 7. Sakura was trying to get a date with Sasuke while Sai would just draw in his artbook. Soon, Kakashi and Yamato appeared.

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi said. "There was a-" He stopped when realised someone was missing. "Hey, where's Naruto?"

"That baka's probably sleeping in or devouring ramen." Said Sakura.

They first went to Ichiraku's where Teuchi said that the last time he saw him was yesterday. So they headed to Naruto's apartment.

"Dobe! Wake up!" Sasuke shouted. He then kicked the door open and walked in, followed by the rest of Team 7.

Kakashi walked into Naruto's bedroom and found Naruto's hitai-ite and the wrecked photo of Team 7.

'This is not good.' He thought.

* * *

Tsunade was looking at some reports when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in." She said. Kakashi stepped in and closed the door.

"Tsunade, Naruto's gone." Kakashi told her.

"What?" She said.

"I can't find him anywhere in Konoha." He answered. "He's not at his apartment, he's not at Ichiraku's, and he's not at any of the training grounds."

"Then we'll need to find him before Akatsuki does." Tsuande told him. "Shizune! Find Teams 8, 10 and Gai tell them to meet at the northern gate. Kakashi, the same goes for your team."

_A few hours later. . ._

Naruto had passed through Tanzaku Quarters for breakfast and was now making his way towards Kawa no Kuni. Once he crossed through there, all he would have left is Kaze no Kuni and then he would be out of the Elemental Countries. After the vampire attack last night, Naruto did not encounter any threats, though he was sure that Konoha would know that he's gone by now and they would send a squad to bring him back. Aside from them, he would also have be wary of Akatsuki and Orochimaru. But as he got close, he spotted Itachi standing on a bridge ahead of him.

"It's incredibly foolish of you to be wandering by yourself." Said Itachi.

"And what about you, didn't you have some freaky fish guy carrying a giant sword with you?" Naruto asked.

Itachi remained silent. He and Kisame had tracked down the Yonbi Jinchuuriki, and had just finished defeating it when Kisame sensed Naruto, and since Itachi did very little fighting against the Yonbi, he elected to get the Kyuubi while Kisame would escape with the Yonbi.

"That's irrelevant." Said Itachi. "Come with me peacefully, I don't want to hurt you."

"Yeah, sure you don't." Said Naruto, not believing Itachi. "I'm not going with you, I have somewhere to be, and you're in my way."

"Then I have no choice." Said Itachi. He then pointed at Naruto. "You will come with me whether you like it or not."

Two crows flew out Itachi and dived at Naruto, turning into shuriken. Naruto dodged them, and started to feel sleepy.

'Wait, this is familiar.' Naruto thought as he resisted. Suddenly, the left side of his head peeled away, revealing Sasuke.

"You really are a dobe if you're just going to run away like a chicken." Said 'Sasuke.'

"And you're a sore loser." Naruto retorted as he started taking deep breaths. Sakura's face appeared on his stomach, though Naruto just glared at her.

"Why did you abandon Konoha?" 'Sakura' asked, tears falling from her eyes. "We were supposed to be a team!"

Naruto didn't reply, only continuing his deep breaths as Kakashi's face emerged from his right shoulder.

"Of all the people to abandon their team mates, I can't believe you would be lower than trash." 'Kakashi' said to him.

Naruto still continued with his deep breaths. Gaara's eye appeared on the palm of his left hand.

"As always," 'Gaara' started. "No matter what-"

"Shut. Up." Said Naruto. "I'm trying to concentrate."

'Sasuke' scoffed. "On what?" He asked.

In one swift motion, Naruto brought his hands together, forming a handseal.

"KAI!"

A wave of chakra flew out of him, tearing the faces of his hated team mates and Gaara off of him, screaming before disappearing as the genjutsu was dispelled.

"Impressive, you broke the genjutsu all by yourself." Said Itachi. "I thought it would work because there was nobody to help you escape it this time."

"Well you thought wrong." Said Naruto.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!" Itachi called out, sending several fireballs at Naruto. Naruto dashed behind a tree while the fireballs landed around him. When it stopped, Naruto stepped out of the tree, and right into the gaze of Itachi's Sharingan.

"Tell me Naruto, where are you heading?" He asked as he approached Naruto.

"W-west." Naruto answered, struggling to resist. "T-to T-T-Tou. . . N-n-never. . . Telling. . . You!" Naruto managed to punch Itachi in the face, sending the traitorous Uchiha onto his back.

"You are certainly determined Naruto." Said Itachi. "But I cannot let you escape." He raised his head. "It is-" Itachi's eyes widened as he saw Naruto bringing down his greatsword and rolled away before he was chopped in half. He then jumped onto his feet and kicked Naruto away, causing the Uzumaki to drop his greatsword, then created two Shadow Clones and an Exploding Clone which went forward to engage him with Taijutsu. Instead of charging forward, Naruto raised his hands and fired streams of lightning at the clones, dispersing the clones and detonating the Exploding Clone, sending him onto the ground again. Naruto focusing the lightning on Itachi, only for another Itachi attempt to flank him from the right. Naruto turned the lightning onto that Itachi, causing it to disperse. He then turned his attention back to Original, only to see him flee. Naruto grabbed his Greatsword and started to chase after Itachi.

_Kawa no Kuni. . ._

When Itachi was sure he lost Naruto, he stopped to catch his breath. Naruto was heading west, and he was very determined to do so if he broke out of two of his Genjutsu. He would need to inform the rest of Akatsuki about this. He was interrupted from his thoughts when he saw Naruto jump out of the bushes, swinging his greatsword at him. Itachi jumped away, but a small part of the blade had manage to cut his leg, causing Itachi to collapse when he landed again. He got up, noticing Naruto was advancing towards him, and then decided to use Tsukuyomi.

Naruto suddenly found himself stuck on a T-shaped cross. He pushed his arms against the metal bars restraining his arms and legs, noticing that they got looser. The sky was cloudy and red, with a red moon in the sky.

"You can't escape from this one." Said Itachi. "It can only be broken by a Sharingan user that shares the same blood as me." He pulled out a sword. "Now then, come with me peacefully, or you will be subjected to 72 hours of pain."

"I choose neither." Said Naruto while glaring at Itachi.

"Defiant as always." Said Itachi as he started walking towards Naruto. "You will pay for your foolishness."

'Just a step closer. . .' Thought Naruto as he continued to glare at Itachi. Once he was close enough, Naruto shouted, **"FUS!"**

Itachi staggered back in surprise, giving Naruto enough time to free himself from the cross, allowing Naruto to blast Itachi with lightning.

Naruto found himself back in the real world, with Itachi staring at him in shock.

"What the hell are you?" He asked.

"Dragonborn." Naruto answered, readying his greatsword.

Itachi started to run, but due to the wound on his leg, he couldn't move as fast as he wanted to. Itachi tossed some shuriken at Naruto to distract him.

Naruto dodged the shuriken, and looked to see Itachi was limping away, though he was still moving pretty fast.

"Alright then, let's finish this." He said, chasing after Itachi.

_Kaze no Kuni. . ._

Temari drank some water from her canteen as she continued her route. She was on patrol duty, which was a bit of a break since the Chunin Exams just finished, and just before that, there those emissaries from the Aldmeri Dominion who were speaking with Gaara.

It was then she spotted someone wearing a black cloak with red clouds in the distance.

'Akatsuki? Here?' Temari thought to herself. They already had Shukaku so they must have been passing through. But this one was wounded, and by himself. And as he got closer, Temari recognised who it was.

'Itachi?' Thought Temari. 'But who is he running from?'

Her question would be answered when she saw someone wearing orange and black and was wielding a greatsword pursuing Itachi.

* * *

Naruto dodged a Great Fireball Jutsu from Itachi, then blasted him with lightning. The missing-nin fell to his knees, struggling to stand back up. He turned around to see Naruto ready to swing the finishing blow.

"Wait Naruto!" Itachi said, panic in his voice. "Don't-"

In one swing, Naruto separated Itachi's head from his shoulders. He put his greatsword away, the picked up Itachi's head.

"Naruto?" Temari said is surprise. "You killed Itachi Uchiha!"

"Yes." Naruto said, glaring at her. "Is that a problem?"

"Look, if this is about your match, I'm sorry, I was forced to sabotage it by Jiraiya." Temari explained. "He said he would get Konoha to stop sending us missions if I didn't comply, and what was I supposed to do? Fight the Toad Sannin?"

"I know Jiraiya was the one who sabotaged me." Naruto replied, no longer glaring at her. "There is a way you can make it up to me."

"How?" Temari asked.

_Later. . ._

Teams 7, 8, 10 and Gai walked along the sands of Kaze no Kuni, tracking Naruto again. From what they found, he had been in a few fights.

"Over there!" Said Tenten, pointing at something ahead.

It was Temari holding a severed head, along with several ninja from Suna, and they were standing over the body of someone from Akatsuki. The retrieval team ran up to speak with Temari, save for Sasuke, who stood still eyeing the head Temari was holding.

"Temari, what happened?" Sakura asked. She looked at the head she was holding. "Is that Itachi?"

Temari nodded. "I saw him fleeing from Naruto, but by the time I caught up to them, Itachi's head was lopped off."

"Quit joking around." Said Sakura. "What really happened?"

"I'm not." Replied Temari, frowning at Sakura. "I saw Itachi limping, Naruto was chasing him with that large blade of his, I ran up to help him, but by the time I got there, Naruto sliced Itachi's head off."

"You really expect me to believe that story?" Sakura asked as Shikamaru walked up.

While they argued, Shikamaru studied Itachi's head, and saw that his eyes were missing.

"Naruto took his eyes?" The Nara asked.

Sakura and Temari stopped arguing, the former noticing what Shikamaru pointed out.

"No, he destroyed them." Temari answered.

Suddenly, Sasuke stormed up to Temari, and grabbed her by the collar of her clothes.

"I was supposed to be the one that killed Itachi!" Sasuke shouted.

"Well someone else got to him first," Said one of the Suna-nin. "So you'll just have to get over it."

Sasuke screamed in anger as he threw Temari to the ground and punched out the Suna-nin.

_Back with Naruto. . ._

Naruto walked through the Nanban Jungle, walking down the barely visible path. As he had made his way past Kaze no Kuni's west border and back into the western lands, he spotted a path that lead into the jungle which looked like it wasn't being maintained, or even used. Naruto thought of Kannu and Chouhi's adventures, and how Chouhi had met the Nanban Barbarians in the jungle, maybe they could help him. So far, his only threat was vicious animals, but aside from that he hasn't spotted the Barbarians.

He stopped when he heard a dragon roar. He rushed towards it, pulling out his greatsword. He eventually came across a hut that looked like it was recently on fire. Standing Outside of it were four girls, all wearing tiger-print bikinis. Three of them wore yellow bikinis, while one wore white and had a tiny pink elephant resting on her head.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked. "I heard a dragon!"

"That dragon attacked us!" Said the girl in the white bikini. "We're going to its lair to stop the beast!"

"You mind if I tag along?" Asked Naruto. "I have experience when comes to fighting dragons."

The girl in the white tiger bikini nodded. "I'm Moukaku, king of the Nanban Barbarians." She then gestured to the small elephant. "This is Payapaya." Moukaku then pointed to three in the yellow bikinis. "And that's Mike, Tora and Shamu."

"Hi!"

"Hello!"

"Pleased to meet you!"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto greeted.

"Alright then, lets go get that dragon!" Moukaku shouted, arming herself with a warhammer whose head resembled a giant paw. Mike pulled out a small war axe, Tora used a large wooden club, while Shamu used a slingshot.

The group of five made their way to the dragon's lair, which was the wall of some Ancient Nordic ruin sitting atop some land that rose above the jungle. Perched atop the wall was the dragon, and like the one at the watchtower, it also had brown scales. As Naruto and the Nanban Barbarians approached, the dragon spotted them and took off. It circled around the group before it landed in front of them. Naruto started slashing it while the Barbarians attacked with their weapons. The dragon snapped at Moukaku, who leapt away.

**"FUS!"** Naruto Shouted, causing the dragon to turn its attention to Naruto. Naruto dove behind a rock just as the dragon attacked him with its fire breath. When the stream of fire stopped, Naruto resumed his attack on the dragon.

Suddenly, Moukaku hit the dragon in the head, stunning it. The dragon looked at her, only for Moukaku to jump onto its head. The dragon raised its head, launching Moukaku into the air, but the Barbarian had used the momentum of the fall to land one final blow against the dragon.

She then turned to her cheering subjects. "Tonight, we shall have a glorious feast!" She said, only to see Mike, Tora and Shamu stop cheering. "What is it?" She asked, only to hear the sound of cackling flames. Moukaku turned around to see the dragon's skin burning away while a blue and orange wind rushed out of it and into Naruto.

"I'm the Dragonborn." Naruto answered.

"You're the one the sky called out for?" Moukaku asked, remembering when she had heard the call a month ago.

". . .Yes." Naruto answered. He then looked at the dragon's lair, noticing the chest, along with a Word Wall like the one from Bleak Falls Barrow. And just like it, one of the Words was glowing. Naruto approached the wall, and just like before, a blue wind rushed out of the word and into Naruto. The Word was Fo, which meant frost.

"What is it?" Moukaku asked.

"A new Shout." Naruto answered. He then looked away from the Nanban Barbarians and Shouted, **"FO!"** A ball of cool air launched out of his mouth, freezing the ground as it passed over it. He then checked the chest, and found four spell tomes: Frostbite and Flames, which were Destruction spells, along with two purple spell tomes, both decorated with an arch with a dot on it.

'Conjure Familiar? Raise Dead?' Thought as he looked at the two purple tomes. 'I'll ask Koumei if she knows anything about them.' Naruto then looked at the Nanban Barbarians. Moukaku held the dragon's skull in her hands. "Say, do you know how to get to Touka Village?" He asked.

"Of course we do!" Moukaku answered. "But before that, we shall celebrate our victory against the dragon!"

As Naruto and the Nanban Barbarians walked back to their hut, Tora stopped to look at the dragon skeleton one last time.

"I wanted to try dragon. . ." She said quietly before joining the others.

_Sometime later. . ._

"Thank you for coming to see me."

"It's no problem Kikyo." Kouchuu replied as she took a sip of her sake.

Kikyo, which was Gengan's true name, was a feudal lord, but recently she stepped down and she was going to join Touka Village.

"I do look forward to seeing my apprentice again." Said Gengan, thinking of Gien. "How is she?"

While Kouchuu was talking about Gien, her daughter Riri was drinking some juice when she spotted a certain blonde wearing orange and black walking by.

"Hi Naruto!" Riri called out.

Naruto stopped walking and looked at Riri while Kouchuu and Gengan stopped their conversation and looked at Naruto.

"Naruto, you're back!" Kouchuu said in surprise.

"I missed you too Kouchuu." Said Naruto. "You too Riri."

"So you're this Naruto I've heard about." Said Gengan. "I'm Gengan, I believe you've met my apprentice Gien."

"Nice to meet you too." Said Naruto.

Kouchuu then noticed the Nanban Barbarians, who were looking at her and Gengan in happiness. "I see you've met the Nanban Barbarians." She said.

"So Naruto." Said Gengan. "Are you coming with us to Touka Village?"

_Later, in Touka Village. . ._

Koumei was playing Xiangqi against Houtou when Kouchuu had returned. She heard Gien run past, eager to see Gengan again. But then she heard some bickering from Chouhi and. . . Moukaku? She wondered if Kouchuu or Gengan had visited the Nanban Barbarians. But then she heard the several gasps, causing the two girls to stop their game and head to the mansion gate. The others were there, looking surprised at someone or something that had come with Kouchuu, Riri, Gengan and the Nanban Barbarians.

"What's going on?" She asked, but when she reached the mansion gate, her eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm back." Said Naruto, a smile on his face.

**Next chapter, Naruto finally heads for High Hrothgar to met the Greybeards, and then I start the Dawnguard arc.**


End file.
